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In my last posting on this blog I emphasized that my primary goal as the new CEO of Tesla Motors was to get the car on the road. The potential of this company is vast but it is dependent on meeting our commitments and that starts with delivering the 2008 Tesla Roadster to our customers.

Since my previous communication we have obtained all the required regulatory approvals for the sale of the Roadster in the US and delivered the first production Tesla Roadster. We also set at that time a date of March 17th 2008 for the start of regular production of the Roadster. I am pleased to report to you that we have met this commitment and have begun regular production.

While this is an important milestone for the company and a watershed for the new era of electric vehicles, we still have a lot of work to do. Our key focus with the Roadster will be on gradually ramping up our production in a deliberate and controlled manner reaching a rate of over 100 Roadsters per month early next year.

At this point our attention is expanding into the sales and service arena marked by the opening of our Los Angeles store and Menlo Park store in the near future. We are determined to provide a customer sales and service experience that will not only raise the bar to the automobile business but will far exceed the best available anywhere.

Our customers have been a key part of this journey to date, staying engaged and loyal as they have watched us closely through our development process. We plan on rewarding this loyalty by delivering a revolutionary car and providing a level of service that inspires confidence and a sense of association with a company that really cares.

With this milestone, the Tesla Roadster is the only zero emission electric vehicle in production today – this is in stark contrast to the others who only talk about their future plans. Tesla’s remarkable achievement validates the vision, ingenuity, hard work and commitment of Tesla’s employees.

Tesla will further expand its existing technological lead as we build and deliver thousands of Roadsters per year. With innovative EV technology, a strong brand, and being ahead of the pack, Tesla has established an extraordinary platform for future success.

Finally! Thank you so much for all the hard work you guys at Tesla have put into making the dream a reality!

Kevin Harney

10:08am | Mar 17, 2008

I - and I am sure MANY other have been anxiously awaiting this post all day !!! And we are so glad that great and dramatic progress is being made at TM !!! Tons of heart felt congratulations for all of your hard work !!! Thank you doesn't seem to be enough ...

David

10:16am | Mar 17, 2008

Congrats - big milestone...

PLEASE get rid of the "fastest top gear acceleration of any production car tested by Car & Driver magazine in 2007" tagline since:
1) it is enormously misleading, and if it attracts a potential customer to examine the vehicle they will only be left with a bad taste of disapointing marketing
2) it is extremely dificult to actually explain what the "top gear acceleration" metric even is to the average consumer
3) as written in the press release, the claim is likely not even true... it is only (possibly) the fastest top gear acceleration when measuring from 30-70 (omitted from the press release), not fastest in general

I really admire the company, and I strongly support the effort, but recognize that because you are trying to do something that many have called infeasable, you will be held to a significantly greater level of scrutiny. With a product as spectacular as yours, it should be easy to under-promise and over-deliver, don't do the reverse.

Kevin Harney

10:30am | Mar 17, 2008

Now that official production has started. What are they currently producing in a Day or a Month. Is is 1 /day or 1/week etc. And I know that you are saying that will be ramped up as soon as possible and that is GREAT. Can you keep us posted as to the increases in production and perhaps add a counter to the home page for Roadsters DELIVERED !!!! I personally am looking forward to delivery of Whitestar P1 !!!! Hopefully it will be mine :) Though I am sure others will manage to beat me out.

DGP

10:36am | Mar 17, 2008

congratulations!

Katrina Montinola

11:06am | Mar 17, 2008

Congrats - definitely a big milestone.

But I have to be honest with you - my interest in this car is waning because of the delay. I still have not been invited to test drive the car, which is definitely the best way to "keep me warm". Okay, granted I am only 400th or so on the list because I chose to put down only $30K, but I think in some ways that's because I am more of a typical customer rather than an early adopter. I really admire the company and want it to be successful, so I thought I'd write this here to help you get inside the mind of a customer like me, rather than your typical early adopter. After all, a successful company cannot be made by catering only to the early adopters.

Also, I don't think the fancy transmission is worth the delay. To a customer like me, I like that the car performs well (my current car is a 2006 SL 500) but I really don't need it to go from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds.

Dear Great Employees of Tesla,
Wonderful news!!! Looking forward to receiving my Roadster by November or sooner. Keep up your good work. Doug

Joseph

12:03pm | Mar 17, 2008

Congratulations!

Roadster production began on March 17, St. Patrick's day. I wonder if the first car will be green!

Clee

12:04pm | Mar 17, 2008

Congratulations! It is quite a milestone to quiet the naysayers. I'm looking forward to your future models.

Still... "the Tesla Roadster is the only zero emission electric vehicle in production today" ? What about the Zap Xebra which has been in production since 2006? With just 3 wheels, 40 mph maximum speed and, 25 mile range, it's not much in comparison to the Roadster, but I think it still qualifies with over 500 sold for use on city streets. I suppose the most significant difference is the Roadster is highway-capable.

Patrik Sigrist

12:11pm | Mar 17, 2008

Great!
I'd like to congratulate every current and former employee for reaching this very important milestone. We hope to see this car hitting the roads of Switzerland in the near future. Driving this car up and down an alpine pass appears to be the second best in the world. The best ever is.... ;-)).
Cheers, Patrik

Fshhead

12:15pm | Mar 17, 2008

CONGRATS TO THE WHOLE TESLA TEAM!!!!!
What a proud day for America! As pointed out the ultimate green car released on St. Patricks day . How ironic it would be if the 1st one was indeed painted green lol

LET THE ELECTRIC REVOLUTION BEGIN!!!!!

Thomas J.

12:36pm | Mar 17, 2008

Awesome!

So, Ze'ev, are you on the list of buyers now? I recall that as of the last town hall, you weren't. I guess the Red Hot Chili Peppers beat you too it!

Congratulations to the whole TESLA TEAM, to the whole present staff and also to ALL of TESLA's GREAT PIONEERS. You have done a wonderful job.

With the best greetings from little switzerland, Europe! Felix

Chris

1:09pm | Mar 17, 2008

"In my last posting on this blog I emphasized that my primary goal as the new CEO of Tesla Motors was to get the car on the road. "

...And the car is now on the road.

As Ron Stoppable would say, "BOOO-YAH!" :D

Andrew Kelsey

1:28pm | Mar 17, 2008

##David wrote on March 17th, 2008 at 11:16 am

##PLEASE get rid of the “fastest top gear acceleration of any production car tested by Car & Driver magazine in 2007″ tagline ##since:

I agree 100% with David's views as expressed in his comment above. You don't even need to do this. You've sold this year's production, why would you want to mislead people in this way? If even fans of the Tesla like David and myself are offended by this kind of thing don't you think your competitors might use it against you eventually? I'm sure if we took a vote every one of the regular commenters on here would prefer you not to use this statistic. It proves nothing about the car but sadly it proves there is something not very honest and straightforward about whoever decided to use it.

Jason M. Hendler

2:12pm | Mar 17, 2008

I am still concerned that the production is still being slow rolled. Waiting to build until all the planets align only means that you lost time identifying any assembly problems you might have encountered, had you moved ahead building with whatever parts you had. This is going to be a slow, expensive and fruitless endevour, as you allow lazy theorists to advise your manufacturing, instead of launching when and as you can.

Laura Pressley, Ph.D.

2:22pm | Mar 17, 2008

Congratulatoins! When will there be a distributorship in Houston Texas? Those of us in Austin are ready!

Absolutely, 100%, terrific news. Best of luck to you and the entire Tesla team!

My interest in the vehicle hasn't diminished because of the wait. In an age where instant gratification is the norm, it would be nice to have a Tesla now for sure. I feel, however, Tesla Motors has done a more than adequate job keeping me engaged with the progress, set-backs, and such.

This is wonderful news - I hope. I don't know far down the list i am, but since I didn't get signed up in time for a $30k deposit, only $5k, I wonder how far into 09 I might be waiting? Will there be a way to track your car on line? That would certainly add to the reality of the ultimate delivery date excitement.

Kyle Rader

2:34pm | Mar 17, 2008

I would like to spend the time to congratulate Tesla Motors on this historic day in motoring. Tesla Motors is the first of several new companies that will create a paradigm shift in the automotive industry, but moreover, I see Tesla Motors as the first of many companies to come in next Silicon Valley boom, the clean tech boom. Keep up the great work Tesla Motors employees and board members!

Jo Anne Herem

2:34pm | Mar 17, 2008

I just read in People magazine (I think it was) that George Clooney has reserved a Tesla. Is there any way to find out which color he chose???

:-)

Bob Rolls

2:35pm | Mar 17, 2008

This is truly an historic day. To the Tesa Motors team: Well Done!

Jose Alfonso

2:43pm | Mar 17, 2008

Congratulations on your Production Start !

By the way, how come you had to go to the UK to begin production, for a vehicle that was invented in the U.S ? - just curious ...

J. Alfonso
an Enthusiast

Jose Alfonso

2:46pm | Mar 17, 2008

Hey, I thought about this after my last posting - regardless of where the vehicle is manufactured, when is the 1st sedan due out ?

I can't wait to see the BIG BOYS crinch with embarrassment as the general public adapts to your technology and quickly drops the dino fuels ......

Congrats! The long awaited day has finally come. A wonderful day to be sure, one which will go down in history.

Fshhead

3:02pm | Mar 17, 2008

Once AGAIN a great day in our history in America!!!!
A really cool idea would be to have a ticker showing how many are rolling out & their number in line. Also being able to track color & owners( if they feel comfortable with it) Be pretty interesting to hear of the celebritys such as Clooney, Shwarzenegger & hear their reactions to being proud new owners

Congratulations on hitting this mark! It's hopefully a sign that the business is really going to start accelerating and fulfilling early waitlisters' patience and hopes for the vehicle.

Howard Reiter

3:11pm | Mar 17, 2008

The idea of a counter on the web site showing how many cars have been produced is excellent. I also agree with the writer who wanted to get some idea about where we buyers stand in line and when we can expect delivery. Even a ballpark datewould be useful. This information will help in planning car purchases or sales, garage construction, power installation, etc over the next year. How much notice was Tesla planning to give before the car went into production lineup so we can add features or change colors last minute?

Finally, I would love to be able to test drive the car, or even see it without travelling to California. I live in Connecticut and have not heard of any publicity or demonstrations on the East Coast. I ordered sight unseen on the great idea of owning a zero-emissions car that is totally hot.

Jay D. Watt

3:28pm | Mar 17, 2008

Good On Ya ! May the blessing of St.Patrick be with Ya, on this historic day, Ya Volt !

Joan Daniel

3:29pm | Mar 17, 2008

Bravo!!
Who Resurrected the Electric Car? TESLA Motors Did!!

Waiting for the "WhiteStar Sedan" , like many other 90% of prospect clients.

Cheers!

Jay D. Watt

3:32pm | Mar 17, 2008

Outstanding Tesla is the wave of the future and I can't wait to see the 5 seat passenger you have coming I hope soon,Good On Ya!

Justin Chiou, Taiwan

3:52pm | Mar 17, 2008

I am so happy to hear all your porgress in production. EV is a great hope for people world wide.

Steve Fermi

3:54pm | Mar 17, 2008

Heartiest congratulations to everyone who is now or has EVER BEEN at Tesla. This is wonderful news and today should be a day for only positives. Everyone who feels they need to carp about this issue or that, save it for another day, already! Looking forward to getting my car with more anticipation as each week passes. Keep up the great work, Tesla Motors!

Mark

3:56pm | Mar 17, 2008

Congratulations guys!!
Keep up the great work:)

As for the question:
"Joseph wrote: 'Roadster production began on March 17, St. Patrick’s day. I wonder if the first car will be green!'"

Congratulations! I'm wearing my Tesla hat today (1) in honor of this milestone and (2) to advance the brand name and concept.

NewTeslaGirl

4:10pm | Mar 17, 2008

This is great! Do have a question though & I do apologize if this has been covered already but for those who can purchase one of these awesome vehicles, when the batteries DO wear out (as I'm sure they eventually have to be replaced at some point) where can we purchase replacements? Also, will we be able to carry the charger on the road? Can we plug it in to charge easily just anywhere or will we have to ask permission from someone to use their electricity or pull into a camp site that offers electrical hookups? Also, are the potential buyers still not allowed to actually DRIVE the car before buying? What if we put down money & finally get the car & don't like it for some reason? Is there not a 'test track' of some sort on the property that would allow potential buyers to drive it themselves? I purchased what was my dream car some years ago & ended up hating it after a short while & regretted buying & I actually got to take THAT car home for a day & test it. This car is undoubtedly what I would refer to as a dream car for more than the obvious reasons but feel that the car is just too expensive to buy w/o getting to test drive it first. What if I get in it to "take it home" & can't see out of it very well to change lanes or to back up. Like most sports cars, I assume there will be 'blind' spots or spots that conceal too easily & have seats are seated 'low' no matter how high you move them so you understand why I'm asking. Is this car easy to drive for anyone under 6' tall? Can a woman of normal or what's considered below average stature be able to drive it w/o problems? I understand the need to weed out those who just want to 'try it out for fun' from those who are REALLY interested & will buy but still, I don't understand why the apparant leeryness of allowing us to test drive it personally. There really wasn't an explaination as to why this was nor was it mentioned as to how new batteries can be purchased & for how much on the newsprogram on which I first learned about Tesla Motors. Thanks & I hope these comments will only be viewed as just questions & questions about possible situations that probably haven't been thought of that I have that I haven't found the answer to & not as sarcasm or heavy criticism. These are real, genuine questions that I have & hope to receive the answer to. Thanks & looking forward to more great vehicles coming our way!

Cobos

4:11pm | Mar 17, 2008

Congratulations on the start of the official production of the Roadster, now get to work getting the sedan finished. We are very eager on seeing the final design for that one.

Cobos
PS: Think has been producing highway capable EV's for about a month, though that car is no comparison to the Roadster

Mark Tomlinson

4:15pm | Mar 17, 2008

Just want to add my congratulations to an already long list. Well done!

Rick Alzati

4:20pm | Mar 17, 2008

Kudos to Mr. Drori and the entire Tesla organization for its significant accomplishment in a very timely manner. Detroit needs to make the same commitments as Tesla Motor's commmitments to the automotive consumers needs... to get totally away from oil dependence!

Like another of your blog contributors, I am a bit taken back by the fact you sent manufacturing overseas?!?!?! Why not keep these much needed jobs in this country. Another important factor is pride and ownership of an American innovation that will show and lead the world towards independence from fossil fuel.

Again, my congratulations to the entire Tesla team and looking forward to hearing news of your plans for the sedan version... that will have a much greater audience as long as you make it more affordable.

Congratulations to everyone fron the front office to the guys in blue out back changing batterys and wiring things !
If this date means much the first one MUST be green, LOL.
I vote for the production # ticker on the home page front and center! looing forward to double and triple digit numbers soon.
Great work good fortune and continued great ideas!

Ed

Carolyn Eberhard

4:53pm | Mar 17, 2008

Great News! I can not wait to get our car! I can only assume that it is REAL soon.

Carolyn Eberhard

Graham Jackson

4:56pm | Mar 17, 2008

Congratulations, good work. When is it going to be available in Australia

Brent

5:11pm | Mar 17, 2008

#NewTeslaGirl wrote on March 17th, 2008 at 5:10 pm

#When the batteries DO wear out?
Maybe after five years, maybe not. They carry a warranty, however, for five years.

#Also, will we be able to carry the charger on the road?
You can buy a cord with adapters that will allow you to charge (slowly) for nearly any outlet.

#Also, are the potential buyers still not allowed to actually DRIVE the car before buying?
Many buyers have driven the car. Some of them have posted comments on previous blog entries.

#What if we put down money & finally get the car & don’t like it for some reason?
If you put your money down now, delivery probably won't happen before late 2009. depending on a number of factors. By then, you'll have a chance to inspect the car up close in the LA or NY showrooms.

#Is there not a ‘test track’ of some sort on the property that would allow potential buyers to drive it themselves?
Not that I know of, but who knows what TM might come up with!

#Is this car easy to drive for anyone under 6′ tall?
You might check out some of the future owner blogs entries on this issue. One woman, I believe, was around 5'2" and enjoyed the car.

#But still, I don’t understand why the apparant leeryness of allowing us to test drive it personally.
The car, until now, has been a prototype. Any manufacture might be understandably leery of allowing the public to use prototypes.

#New batteries can be purchased & for how much.
No one knows, at this point. The best estimates of battery cost range from $12K to $20K. The battery market is fluid and changing, however.

Dirk

5:53pm | Mar 17, 2008

As one who holds a reservation for 2009, is there any pricing information available yet for 2009 model year? Not that I would like to see an increase, but with the Pound and the Euro as strong as it is, are you still making money? Will volume production make up for it?
My sincere conrgatulations on all of your achievments and on your ability to execute!! You and your team have done what the big four could only dream about.

Nathan

6:23pm | Mar 17, 2008

CONGRATS---Tesla Motors, one and all.

I too would like to see a car "counter" and maybe even a "production line" where say Car #29 is finally assembled--or even steps along the way---ESS installed, Final Fit and Finish, Delivered to Customer.

I can understand that you may want to keep those "events" on a private owners site---but over all numbers of cars produced would be great for the "public".

And as one who just saw "Who Killed the Electric Car"---please do start marketing the Tesla overseas and have major components continued to be made overseas so it's less likely you will get "killed" here in the good ol' U S of A....like the EV1 and RavEV were.

It would seem like a Presidential Candidate would be saying to America---"Look---Tesla Motors has done it with just 3 years and $60 million---GM, FORD, GE....where have you been and what have you done with your trillions of dollars?" But they have to worry about what they said in kindergarten---

Again---thanks to all at Tesla Motors!!!

Sumner Matthes

6:51pm | Mar 17, 2008

I'm sure you understand that you may very well have a major part of the answer to our oncoming oil crisis. People should be made aware of what you have accomplished and support your efforts to the maximum. Good luck. We really need someone like you to help stop our dependence on oil, and we need you NOW!

We are so proud to be Americans! Thank you so much to the TESLA team for the only zero emission electric vehicle in production today. Fortitude ~ no better way to say it. All the obstacles most of us will never imagine! Thank you again.
C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S !

Dee of Santa Monica

7:18pm | Mar 17, 2008

Thank you for being the inivators and taking the risk with this production. As soon as I can, I'll be buying one.

Kevin Harney

7:22pm | Mar 17, 2008

This is truely great news and they snuck in a little tidbit on the Whitestar in the press release that it is expected to be introduced to the market in 2010 !!!!

Kenneth A Terry

7:28pm | Mar 17, 2008

So is see the wake up call to all the car manufacture's has begun. I have been watch your progress since 2006 and I am very impressed.

I forgot to ask for the grand opening date of the LA store i'm driving out for that!

Martin Eberhard

8:32pm | Mar 17, 2008

Congratulations.

sspicyy

8:50pm | Mar 17, 2008

Congratulations! I have been watching and waiting for the dream to become a reality and today it has! I predict that this car will be hugely successful and it will truly be the beginning of the end for the gasoline powered car. Keep up the good work!

Fshhead

8:53pm | Mar 17, 2008

Any chance that now things are in production you can change the buttons & banners to reflect this??
They are a great means of free advertising for you guys!!!! Personally I LOVE spreading the Tesla name!

Francois Engelbrecht

10:02pm | Mar 17, 2008

Firstly I would like to say a huge congratulations on your product and company. Although the price may be out of my range at the moment I'm working hard towards being able to join the EV league.

When will this be available in South Africa?
Is there any plans for a 4 seater (Toyota Yaris or Mazda 2 type of size)
Any possibility for a 2+2 offroad type of vehicle.
Maybe even a compacts single seater? (Something like a bike but on 4 wheels and out of the weather ;)

In any case, I hope your company and products just go from strength to strength.

Jiri Saneistr

11:03pm | Mar 17, 2008

Congratulations! This is great news!

I am from Czech Republic. And if it will be possible in the future, I will buy this car (ok, now I do not have enough money :-)!
This is really my dream-car. No emissions, no noise, simply fantastic car.

"it would seem like a Presidential Candidate would be saying to America—”Look—Tesla Motors has done it with just 3 years and $60 million—GM, FORD, GE….where have you been and what have you done with your trillions of dollars?” But they have to worry about what they said in kindergarten—"

is a very good point...probably all went on lunches for the fat cats and football season tickets for the oil producers....

And if poor little Katrina daaahling can't wait a few more months for the biggest single technological advancement in personal transportation since the wheel, maybe she better run home and tell Mummy about the nasty people at Tesla who are making her wait so long.....

Looking forward to the European release day guys, !!!!

Bjørn Johansen

12:29am | Mar 18, 2008

Congratulations!

I would really love to get one of these over to Norway where there are a LOT of incentives for driving EVs

Think started their highway ready model in November last year, though (and production was delayed due to Tesla failing to deliver their promised batteries). It can travel up to 200 kilometres (124 miles) in city driving on a fully charged battery, with a top speed of 100km/h.

Malcolm Wilson

12:40am | Mar 18, 2008

Many congratulations to the Tesla teams across the world. Keep those component deliveries synchronised as production rate ramps up. :)

matt paryani

1:11am | Mar 18, 2008

CONGRATULATION!
Tis is wonderful news,At BAT in burbank, my co converted geo metro,to electric car with 40 miles range.
I VISITED YOUR DRIVE SYSTEM IN GLENDORA, CA.
Now my son is helping you to design fuel gauge electronics.
Anil learned lot at honda research, in fact he has patent.
What a way to go,Hope your co will export to India, Hong kong and CHINA
Matt

Gregorio García Gallego (Spain)

1:13am | Mar 18, 2008

Congratulations!! -
It´s the best news of the year, I am looking forward to see more such cars in Spain -
This is really my dream-car. I am looking forward to your future successes at Tesla team!!
Regards

Marco Pedrotti

2:07am | Mar 18, 2008

After hundreds of enthusiastic fans from all around the World, I decided that this is the case to add my congratulation to the entire team from ITALY.
I can immagine the incredible effort you have spent in meeting the promise about P1.
This is a great day because I can now begin to immagine when your jewel will be available in Europe and, obviously, in Italy.
I know a lot of people ready to taste the pleasure to drive the new Tesla. All of them will have to throw away their fuel engine cars.
I hope that in the near future you will start to think to Europe and this will make me finally happy.

When you will need a distributor in Italy ... call me. I have the network you need.

All the best for a quick ramp up of production and the next challenge about White Star. It will be the next success. For sure.

Marco

Willy - HB9AHL

3:01am | Mar 18, 2008

You realized a great step for mankind ! My best congratulations for your excellent work ! You finished talking and just did it !

Starvid

3:02am | Mar 18, 2008

With the dollardämmerung going on, the export markets lie wide open for Tesla. Any plans for exports?

ROGER HIGBEE

3:02am | Mar 18, 2008

So, let's answer the questions
1. How long do the batteries last?
2. What will the replacement cost be?
3. Can they be refurbish?
4. Where can they be purchased?

Alessandro

3:53am | Mar 18, 2008

It's a beautfull day! Hope that it's only the begin of a new era! Why don't you sell this technological jewel also in Italy?! We need it!!

From the first day, i hear from the tesla project it was very interessting for me to see how your company and projekt is going up. I think that this would be a step in the right direction of car technology.

You've done a great job. I hope we in europe can buy your car in the near future. Please let us know, what's your plan for export your cars.

Paul
(AUSTRIA)

James Smith

4:31am | Mar 18, 2008

Fantastic news!!! Congratulations to all at the Tesla Team!

I've been following this blog for over a year now and it's great to finally hear about production vehicles - I thought it would never come! It's a revolution!

The sales news is most exciting to me. I went to Ford to buy an Escape Hybrid, and despite being prepared to pay far more than normal cars are valued at, I was treated to the traditional High Pressure tactics of used car sales. Had I not wanted to get an Escape so badly, there were three turning points where I should have walked out of the dealership, not the least of which is when the salesman, for no explicable reason, began to yell at me.

I'll gladly pay 60K or more for a Tesla, and to be able to order online without having to deal with commission salesmen. Ford has lost a lifelong customer. Please keep us informed with this blog. Had I not been reading reddit I would never have seen this announcement in traditional media.

-D

Jeff Thomas

4:39am | Mar 18, 2008

What a huge accomplishment this is. The first 100% electric sports car in the world ... and a high performing one at that. This is no golf cart concept car that's for sure. This car will keep up with the Porsches and Ferraris and Corvettes just fine. I want to see some new Tesla owners post some video on YouTube of their new Tesla taking on a few top sports cars at a local drag strip.

This first Tesla is going to be a big collector's model that people will be nostalgic about in 20-30 years. The 2008 Tesla ... the big breakthrough 100% electric sports car that showed the world that electric car technology could be high performing, have pretty good driving range, and have the looks and features that other ICE engine sports cars have. A no compromise sports car that happens to run on ZERO gasoline. A whole new breed of car is about to be born. This is the car that people will be saying "wow" about a lot in the new few years. They'll say ... "damn, that new Tesla is badazz ... it looks like this new electric car thing is for real .... that car hauls azz as good as anything out there .... looks cool too ... I gotta get me one somehow". :)

Congratulations. Great news. This is a significant milestone for Tesla. You have a dedicated team and a positive forward thinking corporate philosophy.
Don't let the nitpickers deter your resolve to achieve success in the way that you believe best.
I shall patiently wait to see a right hand drive version arrive in Australia as I'm sure it will in the fullness of time.
Again, congratulations and all the best for the future.
Ian

Walton Scott

5:25am | Mar 18, 2008

Congratulations. A new era in personal transportation began yesterday. It could have been GM, but they lacked the forsight. It could have been Ford, but they didn't want to make the effort. I hope you make them feel a serious, lasting regret....

Frank Cervi

5:53am | Mar 18, 2008

Congratulation to all!...well done.

Indeed this car Truely demonstrates the Beginning of an Evolution for the US auto industry.
I wonder if Tesla will have one, this week at the NYC Auto-Show?

Keep up the good work.

Frank of NJ

Dale

6:25am | Mar 18, 2008

"The potential of this company is vast but it is dependent on meeting our commitments and that starts with delivering the 2008 Tesla Roadster to our customers."

And what about your "commitment" to Start Construction on the Whitestar plant in Albuquerque in April of 2007?!? That's going on a year ago in case you can't do the math! And your "commitment" to have the Whitestar in production by Fall 2009?!? Both "commitments" were made when the site location was announced.

The delays in the Roadster, the unstarted plant (as far as I know - I've pretty much stopped reading your blogs on a regular basis), and the probable delay in production of the Whitestar, along with your recent personnel fiasco, have all left me pretty indifferent about Tesla Motors. That's OK though. There are several other EV and PHEV vehicles (particularly Serial Hybirds) that are going to be available long before the Whitestar and 3rd model are out, and some of those will even have better prices. Even if some are just conversions of existing ICE models to EV or PHEV, it just means that their development time will be greatly reduced. IF you want to get my attention back on Telsa, all you have to do is get an AFFORDABLE vehicle (EV with LONG range, or Serial Hybrid with good EV only range) on the road QUICKLY!!!

Ryan

6:59am | Mar 18, 2008

Thanks for the hope in a better world! How many cars per month are going to be produced this next quarter?

Tony Welsh

7:21am | Mar 18, 2008

Congratulations. I am on the list for 2009, so I have a while to wait but I will mention your news on my blog tomorrow (Wednesday is my regulart car day) at http://tonysclimateblog.blogspot.com.

Mads

8:16am | Mar 18, 2008

Congratulations on your accomplishements with the Tesla Roadster, I'm expecting it to change the public oppinion on EVs.

However, your credibility is not exactly boosted by writing "...the Tesla Roadster is the only zero emission electric vehicle in production today... ". This is obviously not true, unless you have very narrow definitions of "vehicle" and "production".

You have a great product. You don't need the BS.

James Anderson Merritt

8:19am | Mar 18, 2008

I also have been following Tesla and these blogs since 2006. Early on, we had discussions about how long it takes to make game-changing technology happen. My yardstick was/is 3-5 years, based on experience on the inside at Apple and other pioneering personal computer and software companies during the 80s and 90s. The Teslans had already been working hard for two or three years when the blogs first went up (July 2006). So I figured that if it took another couple of years to see cars rolling on the road, that would still be exceptional performance. As hard as getting personal computers to market is, putting a car on the road is a lot harder, due to higher expectations for reliability, user interface simplicity, and costs of regulatory compliance. Guess what: There are still over three months between now and the two-year point, and if everything goes as planned, there will still be two months to go when Martin Eberhard gets P2! From what I am reading, here and elsewhere, it won't be much longer than two years, even by the time that early adopters get their transmission upgrades.

All Teslans, past and present, deserve not just applause and congratulations, but ADULATION for this tremendous accomplishment. It is one of the few efforts I have seen in decades that deserves to be described as "legendary."

With all the dismal and even frightening economic news lately, it was a pure joy for me to start my morning today by opening this blog and seeing the great news and everyone's reactions to it. It is still possible in America to do good and make money by channeling the talent and inspiration of good people into the realization of compelling products. The fact that not everyone succeeds, regrettable as it may be, still makes the successes we do enjoy all the sweeter. So savor this moment.

Like many, I wish that the Whitestar plant were up and running, too: I want MY Tesla! :-) But given yesterday's news, and the impact of that news, which I see this morning, I have every confidence that we will get there. It's hard to be patient. But Tesla has rewarded our patience once, and I do not doubt that, in this case, lightning will definitely strike at least twice!

Thank you again, all Teslans, everywhere.

Charles Pluckhahn

8:23am | Mar 18, 2008

Please define "regular production." How many vehicles per month? When will "production" models be made available to the automotive press for testing and review?

Jim Marts

8:34am | Mar 18, 2008

Ze'ev,

Will there be a choice of premium and regular electricity for cars in the future!

Why can't electric cars have an on-board charger to keep the batteries charged at all times? You could use moving parts such as steering wheel, break and accelerator pedals, break rotors, wheels, etc., regenerative breaking like the Ford Escape Hybrid, maybe airflow while the car is moving, design body panels and windows to be used like solar panels. What about four motors, one in each wheel like Volvo is working on?

What about when the vehicle is going down a steep hill or mountain? It would be nice if the vehicle could recoup some energy while coasting down declines.

How do you feel about the electric vehicles that Zap (http://www.zapworld.com/) makes? They have various models of cars, utility vehicles, bikes, etc. Do you ever plan to partner with another company?

Thanks,

Jim

andrew

8:39am | Mar 18, 2008

Congratulations

Now public needs more affortable vehicle, kind of sedan EV, I know production will start soon i believe in N.Mexico

Max

9:11am | Mar 18, 2008

Congratulations to Tesla and Ze'ev!!!

It seems that lately Tesla has nothing but a string of great news!!

I like the idea of a counter myself. I think it should be "cars delivered" though. No need to let the competition know how many cars are produced, but it would be great to show off how many cars are already in owners hands!!!

If possible, I think it would be great to see more "owners feedback" blogs as well. :)

-M

Nubo

9:56am | Mar 18, 2008

I like the idea of the " ...X... number of roadsters produced" banner.

I'd suggest taking it a bit further. As cars come back for periodic maintenance you should be able to acquire a reasonable database of mileage. Which you can then translate to:

Nice work! Like many others, I'd like to hear more details. How long is it currently taking to build one Roadster? What's the expected throughput this month? When will the first customer deliveries happen? I think the counters people have mentioned above are a great idea.

Now...on to that Whitestar information you said we'd be getting soon...

Some notes on above comments:

1. I agree with those who dislike citing the Car & Driver top-gear acceleration; among other things, it's totally unfair to compare a two-speed running in second to a 6-speed running in sixth.

2. Katrina, keep your pants on. That's a pretty sour-grapes way to look at the start of production.

3. About "only zero emissions electric vehicle in production today" ...why did you skip the "highway-capable" that was in the press release? Your version isn't even arguably correct.

4. For those who questioned doing assembly in the UK, let me say that trying to set it up domestically was not at all a practical option. Tesla isn't building these themselves; from the beginning it was obvious that they would need to partner with an existing manufacturer for parts and assembly. Unfortunately, the big three don't really play that game, and I'm unaware of any low-volume shops around here that could compete with Lotus. Once Lotus won the design contest with a concept based on their existing Elise, it was really a no-brainer. They already had tooling appropriate for the extruded chassis and other important items, they had parts suppliers lined up, and they had a workforce accustomed to this type of thing. As someone (Martin?) said in a blog long ago, Lotus is really well-known as the best (only?) cost-effective option for low-volume contract sportscar production. In any case, I doubt there are a great number of people employed in Roadster assembly, and the important part is that the value-added stays here in the states. Whitestar and future vehicles will be built here, so by the time it's a significant number of jobs, they'll be employing American workers. Tesla, any word yet on whether that NM plant will be union?

5. NewTeslaGirl, when the batteries wear out (which is to say when they no longer give the range you want...they slowly die over time rather than just stopping one day) you will basically get them refurbished by Tesla. They will pull (and recycle) the old cells and replace them with new ones. The reason they haven't said what it will cost yet is that they don't know...by the time they start replacing dead packs battery prices will have come down quite a bit. They may even use a different chemistry by then, which could affect cost and/or range. What they've said on the subject is basically "we won't screw you on them." Of course we'll see...but they seem to have been pretty forthright so far. As for test driving the car, I'm confident this will be an option...once the car is in its final form (including drivetrain 1.5) and once they have enough of them to have a couple set aside for the purpose. Right now I'll bet the folks on the waiting list would be a bit miffed if they knew they were having to wait longer for their slot to come up because Tesla was holding back cars for showroom drives. Particularly when all the people on the list anted up without ever getting to see one.

6. Dale, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. These guys are doing incredible things...and now you're "indifferent" to the whole thing because they had a few-month delay in production? Pretty whiny if you ask me. I say let them take the time to do it right.

7. Jim Marts, the Roadster does have regenerative braking (not breaking thankfully), so you can indeed recoup energy when coasting down hills and coming up to stop signs/lights. The rest of your energy-production ideas are poor ones. Trying to capture the energy of the steering wheel is counter-productive (even if it was enough energy to matter, which it isn't) because that energy is supposed to be going through the steering rack to move the wheels. So you're really talking about reverse-power-steering...making it much harder to turn the wheel. Bad idea. Similarly, the amount of energy you'd get from solar panels or pedal energy is laughably small. And the "generators on the wheels" thing is classic perpetual-motion stuff...it doesn't work, because it always takes more energy to turn the generator than you get back out. As for hub motors (a motor in each wheel) there are a few problems. First, it's less efficient and powerful; unlike gas engines, large electric motors are usually more efficient than smaller ones. So for a given weight of motor(s) the more motors you have the worse you're doing. But more importantly, having motors in the wheels moves weight to the corners of the vehicle and greatly increases the unsprung weight. Both of these things would have a large negative impact on handling. This is addressed in more detail in a blog from a while back.

Anyway, congratulations again, and bring on that Whitestar info!

John Walker

11:08am | Mar 18, 2008

Do something in Atlanta... Is there somewhere i could find out about future models?

Congratulation Tesla Motors team! I wish you continued success selling this vehicle and I look forward to see soon a vehicle which is also affordable to the 'man/woman on the street'. Your statement:

"With this milestone, the Tesla Roadster is the only zero emission electric vehicle in production today – this is in stark contrast to the others who only talk about their future plans. Tesla’s remarkable achievement validates the vision, ingenuity, hard work and commitment of Tesla’s employees."

is unfortunately not quite correct. I agree that the choice is very limited on production electric vehicles available today. And this is especially true for the US, but elsewhere you can actually buy electric vehicles, not sports cars like the Tesla, but e.g. city cars like the Th!nk, Twike, CityEls...Some are not really full-blown cars, but they are vehicles too.

Well done on getting production up and running!
However, this is by no means the first EV- others have mentioned Zap, Think, (even GM's EV1), but lets also remember Going Green and NICE (in the UK), both of whom have been selling EVs for some time.

Kevin Harney

1:22pm | Mar 18, 2008

Hunter did you see in the Roadster press release that Whitestar will be introduced in 2010 !!!! :)

Kevin Harney

1:52pm | Mar 18, 2008

Alex,

No one ever said it was the first EV. What they said was ...

The Tesla Roadster is the only highway capable production electric car of any kind for sale in the United States.

Which is true.

Alex Richardson

2:09pm | Mar 18, 2008

Congratulations on this achievement this is absolutely awesome for everyone. Also, judging from the large amount of European posters on this blog there is significant interest there in this car/company and it is not even available for them yet. Hopefully Tesla plans on expanding there as quickly as possible, maybe open up a 2010 roadster waiting list for Europeans to better judge demand. With the dollar falling against the euro it is even more advantageous to export these cars into their eagerly waiting hands. Does anyone know how different European safety standards and other specifications are from American, and how difficult it would be to create a European roadster? And do they change from country to country among members of the European Union?

Alex Richardson

2:15pm | Mar 18, 2008

Also I have to say how much I love you guys at Tesla and you make me more excited about the future than any other company. I think i'm going to buy one of those wallets you sell for merchandise just so I can own something Tesla. I would get a shirt but their kind of lame. How about just a plain white or black one with the Tesla badge over the chest, where supermans logo goes in his outfit.

Pete

2:23pm | Mar 18, 2008

Ze'ev ,

Can you confirm if p2 has been delivered as of yet? Thank you!

Steve Fermi

3:18pm | Mar 18, 2008

Hey Pete,

I'm not Ze'ev, but I think I can answer your question based on the information available on Tesla blogs and elsewhere. Yesterday was the START of production on the rest of the cars (post production unit #1, which Elon already has taken delivery on). The information available also says that the cars being produced now (I assume starting with P2), will be delivered to the US in about 4 weeks, according Tesla's VP of Sales, Darryl Siry. So Martin should be getting his car, P2, in about a month.

On time!!!! One word to say You do not mess around... I see why you are the new CEO BRAVO

Hunter

5:34pm | Mar 18, 2008

Kevin Harney yes I've seen several places that Whitestar is anticipated in 2010. I also saw the press release that said it would be out in late 2009. I don't put much stock in timetables this far out, and I don't mind that delays inevitably happen. What I'm more interested in is seeing actual details about the car (and the plant) and its progress toward production. Having an "open channel" like the Roadster blogging tells me a lot more about the status of the project than any projected dates. I'm very hopeful that now that the Roadster is shipping the blogs will shift to focus on Whitestar and drivetrain 1.5 development.

david moxness

5:38pm | Mar 18, 2008

Wait !! Oh I guess that wasn't an earthquake after all just a giant paradigm shift in the direction the automotive industry was heading. I think that more and more people are going to start realizing how this car is going to impact the industry. Five dollar a galon gasoline is going to get a lot of people looking for viable alternatives and the way has been paved by Tesla Motors. Congratulations!!!

Dreamer :)

6:34pm | Mar 18, 2008

HEY HERTZ! I WANT TO RENT ONE OF THESE FOR THE WEEKEND!!!!!

Love the car, now how about that sedan for those of us with anchors....I mean kids.

Adam

7:03pm | Mar 18, 2008

I can see Tesla as a major automaker already, keep doing what your doing, your word is spreading everyday. Just don't fall to corporate politics like Detroit. Make the supply, the WAITING demand will take care of the rest!! The demand is there.

As a CEO of a high tech Silicon Valley company, I can honestly fully appreciate your achievements. Your first release of a high performance electric roadster was a brilliant move at many levels. The internal combustion engine is an archaic technology and it's about time that it's challenged with newer and better technology. One of the biggest challenges I think Testla will face is in the political arena. I say this because of what happened to the EV1. The best way to combat this is to educate the consumers about the benefits of electric vehicles and answer all the myths about them. Once you've got the consumers on your side, it will be all that much easier to combat your opposition. Secure a steady supply of lithium battery manufacturers and make sure your competition can't buy a controlling share of their stock!!! Good luck Tesla, I support your vision and direction 100%. I can't wait to get mine.

Willi Schaer

10:35pm | Mar 18, 2008

Congratulations from Switzerland. Well done. Please start to sell this car asap here. I am sure it will be a huge success.

Darin Ladd

11:36pm | Mar 18, 2008

Congratulations!

Like Mr. Merritt, I too have been following your progress since late 2006. Meanwhile, Tesla's unique and stimulating Blogs have marked the passage of major milestones in my life (I won't bore you with the details of *which* milestones). It seems only yesterday that I was giddy with excitement watching video of the winter testing (and thinking, "Wow! The car actualy runs, and it looks like they're taking US regulatory compliance seriously . . . !")
I seem to remember also being young and learning about the major human accomplishments of the 20th Century: Humans Achieving Orbit & Landing on the Moon, the Atomic Project, etc. It seemed like, for people of my generation (X-ish), everything that had been done, that was worth doing, was done by our parents (with major funding from the government).
Now, here we are at what would appear to be another moment of historic proportions (although I suspect many will only recognize it in retrospect). Not our parents, this time, but our generation. Not the government, this time, but a small start-up from California.
Its time to ask yourself, "where were you when . . . the first electric car went into production?" Seriously, say that out loud, it sounds impressive. When my son is old enough to understand, I'll make sure he hears about this (hell, we may just be driving in one of your vehicles when I tell him). As for me, I was *here* (not even a real place if you think about it).

Thank you again, ladies and gentlemen of Tesla, past and present, for your hard work and vision in providing me with yet another "Kool-Aide" moment ("Oh yeah!")!

Nigel Boardman

12:41am | Mar 19, 2008

It's good news, now more should follow i do hope, i'm for electric cars but i like the sound of this one which i hope will become a standard, A British engineering firm has put together a high-performance hybrid version of BMW's Mini Cooper. The PML Mini QED has a top speed of 150 mph, a 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds. The car uses a small gasoline engine with four 160 horsepower electric motors — one on each wheel. The car has been designed to run for four hours of combined urban/extra urban driving, powered only by a battery bank of ultra capacitors. The QED supports an all-electric range of 200-250 miles and has a total range of about 932 miles (1,500 km). For longer journeys at higher speeds, a small conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) is used to re-charge the battery. In this hybrid mode, fuel economies of up to 80mpg can be achieved.

mark

1:52am | Mar 19, 2008

# 1. I agree with those who dislike citing the Car & Driver top-gear acceleration; among other things, it’s totally unfair to compare a two-speed running in second to a 6-speed running in sixth.

I don't understand the issue with this.

Car and Driver uses this SAME top gear acceleration metric for cars with CVT which have no gears and for automatic transmission cars. Both have a decided advantage over a manual transmission car in this particular test. In fact I believe their next fastest car was an automatic Mercedes with 500 or 600 HP that no doubt dropped to 2nd gear during this test. The point is that the Tesla didn't require any time to shift for an automatic, any time for a CVT to move to the right ratio or any time to shift a manual. The power was available instantly. This is actually a very big deal.

30-70 mph is THE real world region many of us will notice a lot more than 0-60. And in the real world if you are in a Tesla and decide to hit the accelerator while merging into traffic on the highway or to pass a slow moving vehicle, you don't have to wait for the transmission to kick down a gear, you are accelerating instantly.

Is it not obvious that this is actually where most people will feel the Tesla's advantage and that it is going to be more of a selling point in a test drive than the 0-60 time? Effortless power is a sensation that is hard to describe. If you have read the test drives from people who talk about how amazing it is to drive, I doubt the off the line acceleration was as impressive to them as the immediacy of power available to them at all normal driving speeds.

Also take into account that cars like the Corvette will lock out gears and cause you to skip gears when upshifting a manual transmission to improve gas mileage unless you are flooring it. "Features" like that keep the car's full potential from being available at all times unlike the Tesla which has all of its available acceleration available at any given instant.

City Ah Beng

6:53am | Mar 19, 2008

I believe licensing the technology to the world's top polluting countries like India, China......etc will accelerate the EV revolution. With these countries vast inexpensive manufacturing base.........the world will turn green in no time. Meanwhile.........Tesla sit back and collect the IP royalties on each EV vehicle produced. What is with the vision of trying to manufacture and produce on your own......... short sighted vision.......therefore, delay delay delay.

My two cents worth!!

Disappointed in the vision!!!

Hunter

7:16am | Mar 19, 2008

Mark, I think you may be misunderstanding the top-gear acceleration metric. For this test they force the car into its highest gear, at least for manuals. I don't know what their procedure is with respect to automatics, but if they are letting them downshift for the test (and that doesn't seem right), then the metric has been absurdly stupid since long before we all started talking about it. You say that "30-70 mph is the real world region many of us will notice a lot more than 0-60." I agree, if you're talking about the actual, real world acceleration. But if you're out there in a Corvette driving around at 30 mph in sixth gear, that's not the real world. Unless you're a very bad driver. The right "real world" comparison is 30-70 mph acceleration in appropriate gears for the car, with shifting if necessary. This top-gear metric was never supposed to be "real world" at all...it's designed as a way to show the "flexibility" of an engine, or how it deals out power/torque at extremely low revs. In other words, it's not supposed to show anything at all about any car's actual driving acceleration, as you can see from the numbers posted by most very fast cars. I think someone cited the Corvette's top-gear 30-70 as taking longer than it's standing 0-100mph.

Yes, "effortless power" is a selling point for this car. Yes, it's nice that no one ever has to go gear hunting. Yes, it should probably compare favorably with most other cars in "real world" 30-70mph acceleration. But it's not close to the fastest in this speed range, there are several good reasons why this metric is a bad comparison, and it's dishonest to throw it around without qualification so that it can be misinterpreted all over the place by people like yourself.

Tim Sutton, Switzerland

8:31am | Mar 19, 2008

What about hooking up with NanoSolar and figuring out how to use their new flexible solar-electric cell foil called Nanosolar SolarPly™ which would allow the Tesla to charge itself for free with our most abundant of natural resources, the sun !! This foil can be cut to any size, is non-fragile and so it could even be a retractable/foldable array that could deploy when parked......although that could be a bit too James Bond....

" I don’t know what their procedure is with respect to automatics, but if they are letting them downshift for the test (and that doesn’t seem right)"

Hunter, I'm sorry, but that's the way they do it. If you don't like that metric so be it.

Why do you think an automatic held the title until the Tesla?

And this is as real world as it gets.

David

11:10am | Mar 19, 2008

Kudos Hunter - thanks to all the fans that stood up for a bit of constructive critisism... I posted this in a previous blog, but for anyone that wants to see the real list of top 30-70 vehicles, it can be found here http://www.supercarworld.com/cgi-bin/showtop10.cgi?24... in retrospect, given that my previous post was the last on a blog roll, I don't think anyone saw it... so I'll repost:

Top-gear acceleration does not compare to real world 30-70 mph numbers… if it did, a GMC Canyon truck with Top-gear acceleration, 30-50 mph: 3.8 and 50-70 mph: 6.3, would be considered twice as fast as a Corvette Z51 with Top-gear acceleration, 30-50 mph: 9.8 and 50-70 mph: 9.0… Car and Driver, unfortunately, does not test for 30-70 mph acceleration, but if you check www.supercarworld.com/cgi-bin/showtop10.cgi?24 , you will see the standard fare supercars that you would expect.

Further worth noting is the caveat of "in 2007" - Car and Driver has tested the Mercedes SLR McLaren in 2005 which posted faster times - http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/german_pe... - and though they did retest it in 2007 - http://www.caranddriver.com/buying_guide/mercedes_benz/slr_class/2007_me... - and conceded it to be a faster vehicle than previous years, they did not specificaly test top gear perfomance... Finaly, it should be noted that it is all the more misleading to compare the Tesla Roadster to vehicles that are even tested by C&D in this category since even when automatic transmissions are available (as in the Corvette), C&D will never test them since they are attempting to show the best performance in the 0-60 category... There is little doubt that if these vehicles WERE tested in automatic form they would do better...

Ultimately it comes down to credibility - those that understand the metric know that it is meaningless, those that do not understand the metric will undoubtedly feel cheated when they learn its true meaning... and ultimately, when it becomes commonly known how misleading the metric is, it will be used as a cudgel against Tesla as a credible company.

PS - I don't know if I had written this clearly above, but the press release in question - http://www.teslamotors.com/media/press_room.php?id=841 - does not make any reference to "30 to 70" at all, it simply says "fastest top gear acceleration of any production car"... which is likely simply not true.

Robert Lemke

2:29pm | Mar 19, 2008

In regards to your transmission issues, I’m sure with the amount of gearheads you have, that some of them would have mentioned using a Lenco transmission. I’m curious as to why it isn’t viable? Thier smallest 2 speed is light, very strong (1,200 hp and 900 lb/ft) and made right in Lemon Grove, California. I know their standard ratios won’t do the 2 to 1 your looking for in a 2 speed, but a 3 speed would give you a 2.19 to 1, 1.48 to 1, 1.00 to 1. The 2 speed would be 1.48 to 1, 1.00 to 1.

Charles Pluckhahn

4:45pm | Mar 19, 2008

"What about hooking up with NanoSolar and figuring out how to use their new flexible solar-electric cell foil called Nanosolar SolarPly™ which would allow the Tesla to charge itself for free with our most abundant of natural resources, the sun !!"

-----------

I think this would be an outstanding idea. The result would be a Silicon Valley hype sandwich. Oops, I forgot the exclamation points !!

Earl

4:50pm | Mar 19, 2008

I think that all the arguments about the 30 to 70 are pretty much academic. I've driven the Tesla Roadster, as well as the eBox and the EV1 (as well as many lesser performing EVs). I can assure you that once you've floored a performance EV, you'll know why R&T and Tesla felt the need to make statements about the 30 to 70 acceleration, even if they may not be 100% correct under all conditions. The instantaneous torque of an EV at speed is un-describable. If someone purchases a Tesla Roadster solely because they want the 30 to 70 acceleration, they will not be disappointed, even if their old ride is a supercar that technically can do better by downshifting.
I also suspect that the 30 to 70 times might differ greatly if you assume the other stuff an ICE must do before accelerating. The Tesla Roadster does not need to do any downshifting, turbo spool-up, flywheel spin-up, etc. In the speechless words of many after driving the Tesla: "it just goes".
Once you've driven it, you'll know what I mean. Until then, you'll just have to trust those few of us who have been lucky enough to have driven it. A performance EV feels nothing like any ICE. The Tesla Roadster, of course, does it better than any of the others I've driven.
Go Tesla!

Jeffrey C. Hoover

9:19pm | Mar 19, 2008

I am awed by your accomplishments up to this day and I dream of owning a Roadster someday. However, I am a Disabled American Veteran with an income which will not allow me to realize that dream. I shall wait patiently for a vehicle in the range of $30,000 or less. Good luck and prosperity to you all.

Hunter

6:28am | Mar 20, 2008

"And this is as real world as it gets."

Mark, now you're just being obtuse. Having your Tesla in 2nd (or in the future, in its only gear) at 30 and then punching it to 70 is a real-world scenario. Having your Corvette in 6th at 30 and then punching it to 70 without downshifting is not. Thus comparing the two times is not a real-world comparison. This has already been well-explained, and is simple to understand for anyone who is actually thinking about it. You should start.

Earl, nobody's saying the midrange acceleration of this vehicle won't be very impressive. We're just saying it can stand on its own without Tesla making misleading statements about it. Heck, we've got Elon on video claiming that it's faster in that range than any car ever, including his F1, with no mention at all of "top gear." Now that's just a flat out lie. I'd say it was just a false statement, but I know better than to think that he doesn't know the truth. It's fast. No need to lie about just how fast.

Tim Sutton, just put the solar cells on your house. The car isn't big enough, is usually parked in your garage, is in unpredictable light even when it's out, is exposed to harsh conditions, and has to use energy to carry around any extra weight you put on it.

Peter J Hedge

6:47am | Mar 20, 2008

Has anyone and idea how long it takes for a newly arrived Roadster to become "roadworthy" after it arrives in California? My understanding is that more work (Batteries installed?) has to be done before it can actually be driven.

I'm just trying to figure out when we can expect to see them out and about.

Peter J Hedge
Vctoria, BC

Kevin Harney

7:34am | Mar 20, 2008

Peter,

They are out and about now !!! There are several VPs on the road and P1 is on the road. From the press related to P1 hitting the road it looked like the battery could be installed in less than a day - a few hours or so because it arrived the same day and was handed to Elon after the battery was installed.

mark

10:07am | Mar 20, 2008

"Having your Corvette in 6th at 30 and then punching it to 70 without downshifting is not."

Hunter, that is a completey fair statement. Let's take a stop watch for that in a real world environment.

Before we do, consider this. If Tesla accelerated faster than a 600Hp automatic that can downshift faster than a person can shift, how do you think this would actually play out.

Ever since I first heard of you guys I've prayed nothing would derail your vision. Keep up the great work, & let the oil barrens know they're days are numbered.

Kevin Harney

12:26pm | Mar 20, 2008

Mark,

You are missing the whole point!!!!! We do not disagree on times that it would take to accelerate or not. What we are saying is that the test its self is bogus. Nobody that wants to accelerate a car to pass while traveling at 30 MPH would do so without downshifting. Therefore the test itsself is bogus making the results bogus and unrealistic. You are arguing the wrong point all together. Therefore because the test is bogus and the results are Bogus TM should not use them in their advertising because it is misleading to the public in general. Even you do not understand it.

Peter J Hedge

1:59pm | Mar 20, 2008

Re: Kevin's comment

Thanks Kevin for your response. I guess it puts a whole new meaning to the expression "Batteries not included".

At first I agreed this is a bogus test. Who accelerates from 30-70 in sixth? No one. Not on purpose anyway.

However,

Earl and mark have very good points.

It is not unusual to be driving at 30 mph, then to decide to accelerate (to pass, merge, show off, etc.).

If you are driving a manual Corvette (or a McLaren F1, if you are a *really* lucky dog), *after* you decide to accelerate, you must downshift, then accelerate.

If you are driving an automatic Corvette, the transmission must downshift, which it can do while transmitting some power at the same time (unlike the manual).

This test has been run by car magazines since before I was old enough to read car magazines (quite a while, I'm afraid). It was designed when manuals had 3 or 4 gears, and it was reasonable to accelerate from 30-70 mph in top gear. In fact, I've *read about* the days before automatics (I'm not *that* old). Back then many (lazy) drivers just wanted to get in top gear and stay there from 5 mph up to top speed. Some cars were designed to do this, others were designed to take advantage of all three gears for better performance. These (lazy) drivers (who now drive automatics) were very interested in the 30-70 in top gear test.

So, this test is no longer appropriate for modern manuals (which are never designed for 5 mph in top gear anymore), but what are the car magazines to do? I would suggest using the same gear that is specified by the EPA fuel economy/emissions test at 30 mph, instead of top gear. Or, they could do a manual downshift (usually to second gear), then accelerate.

However, the test is still very appropriate for automatic cars. And, even if the car magazines used one of my suggestions for manuals, the automatics would likely still be the fastest. Automatics can shift quickly, and under power, to the optimum gear for acceleration. A manual would either be held in 4th gear, or require about 1 second lag to down shift with no power (while car is *de*celerating!).

The Tesla has a better time than a 600+ hp automatic car, the fastest C&D tested in 2007.

Tesla *earned* the bragging rights.

GSP

mark

5:27pm | Mar 20, 2008

"We do not disagree on times that it would take to accelerate or not. What we are saying is that the test its self is bogus."

I look at this test as being an indicator of what Tesla does better than any other sports car, and that is offer peak torque over an enormous rpm range for more instantaneous throttle response than any other car currently offers. It is a test that C&D has been doing for many years.

I think at this point that "we" should just agree to disagree because we are looking at this from completely different viewpoints. This debate is pointless and really one of sematics.

Matthew Flaschen

5:37pm | Mar 20, 2008

Congratulations on your major accomplishment!

granz

7:06pm | Mar 20, 2008

Mark is right on. TESLA has 'earned the right' to brag about their torque curve (among other things). The classic 30-70 top gear test is a great way to showcase that strength. Sure, the 600hp competition is fighting a loosing battle in that test. But that's no reason to try to take the victory away from TESLA. The test is a classic test and the TESLA machine won fair and square. PRINT IT!

James Pruitt II

7:23pm | Mar 20, 2008

What can I say… I’ve been a big fan from the very first sneak peek. After I heard the initial numbers on range and efficiency I was inspired. I have a dream of being the first energy positive individual in my small southern town. After a few discussions with a client who is a Green builder, it seems that my dream can be a reality very soon. I think Tesla will help me get there with the release of your third generation sedan (side note: is it too indulgent to request a small crossover SUV for all the families out there???) Kudos to all of those at Tesla that had a dream and congratulations on achieving it!!!

I would like to challenge everyone to consider an investment in our future. Build green and invest in solar energy… With available plugin vehicles that will soon be affordable, almost everyone in America will have the ability to become energy positive. We can make a difference.

Thanks again Tesla… I look forward to the release of your 3rd generation vehicle! (And, maybe a fourth generation small crossover???)

Thanks David, for your links to high performance car specs. The 10th place car did 30-70 in 2.8 seconds. The Tesla with its current transmission should take 3.8 (2/3 of 5.7) and the new high power single speed about 2.8 seconds. Since electric motor torque is constant throught the 0 to 70 range I think it is accurate to project the same 40 mph acceleration based on known 0 to 60 times.

GSP

5:05am | Mar 21, 2008

James Pruett II,

While you are waiting for a Tesla small crossover SUV, I would consider the Saturn VUE two-mode plug-in hybrid that is comming in about 2.5 years. Its a blended PHEV with 10 mi equivelent all electric range. The good thing about only 10 mi EAER is that the battery is much more affordable, and less likely to reduce the cargo space or payload.

I suggest also looking at the 2009 Saturn VUE two-mode (no plug) when it comes out this fall. It is a (very) strong hybrid, and should be the same thing as the plug-in, except with a less capable battery (probably NiMH instead of Lithium) and no plug.

GSP

Jim Mapes

6:28am | Mar 21, 2008

Congratulations on the milestone. I have been following the progress you guys have made for a couple years now. Outstanding that you are up and running. While there have been naysayers, and even people still somewhat put off by delays etc, I am quite certain their doubts will be put to rest as you guys have demonstrated a committment to moving the project forward. I hope to one day own & drive one of these cars, economics willing.

Andrew Kelsey

1:14pm | Mar 21, 2008

I agree completely with Hunter on the pointlessness of the 30-70 figures as published. The Tesla is a very fast accelerating car by any standards and does not need to be compared with other cars that are in the wrong gear. What on earth would that possibly prove? So let's have 30-70 figures compared when the cars are in their best gear for that acceleration run. On that basis the Tesla won't be the fastest car but it will compare very well with most sports cars in its price range. This car doesn't need overhyping and it just makes the Tesla people look dishonest and makes Elon sound like somebody who doesn't know how to drive his F1. You should never accelerate that car from 30-70 in top gear. The car is geared for around 240 mph, so of course top gear is not suitable for 30 mph and any decent driver would never be cruising it in top at that speed. Ask Gordon Murray.
As to missing out the words 'highway capable' in the following statement Ze'ev should be a lot more careful. Again it looks dishonest or sloppy. Either way it isn't good.

##With this milestone, the Tesla Roadster is the only zero emission electric vehicle in production today

Raymond Michiels

1:18pm | Mar 21, 2008

Tesla's coming to Europe! Yea! Norway and Sweden are supposed to have the premiere. Anybody from Tesla to confirm?

On this issue of 30-70 acceleration again, (getting very tiresome, I know)

Andrew wrote " ..... [Tesla] does not need to be compared with other cars that are in the wrong gear. "

This point has been made numerous times, but I'll suggest again what seems obvious, on the slim chance that further conversation on this topic can be nipped in the bud. For those you who are railing against Tesla for reporting their performance in this "top gear" test: Send your objections to Car & Driver for their funky test, not to Tesla for reporting what they have been told by the magazine folks. If this really irks you that much, threaten to cancel your subscription or never buy their rag again. Enough already. Tesla got great results on this standard test. If you want C&D to do the test "when the cars are in their best gear for that acceleration run", you need to convince C&D to change their test, not fault Tesla for reporting what they were told!

OK, now we wait for the backlash....

mark

3:39pm | Mar 21, 2008

"The Tesla is a very fast accelerating car by any standards and does not need to be compared with other cars that are in the wrong gear. What on earth would that possibly prove?"

It's also comparing Tesla to MUCH more powerful cars with Automatic transmissions that can shift faster than a person to get to the right gear as soon as a driver wants to go faster.

Yeah, mark, here's the point of the test: in the real world, it often happens that one is in a higher gear and needs to accelerate quickly. There are two options: drop down to a higher power/revving gear, or gas it and wait for the existing gear to get the job done. This test is a calibration of the latter option. Obviously, the first option still exists, but downshifting requires finite time, during which the Roadster is already taking off at full torque.

Sorry, mark, I was agreeing with you. Meant to address Kevin and Hunter in the simplest possible terms. ;)

Sinisa

11:48am | Mar 22, 2008

Congratulations! I think that Tesla could save the earth! I have great idea, making Tesla motor viable to built in any car on the world could be great saving to our planet!

Lee Rumler

1:04pm | Mar 22, 2008

As an idea for potential energy storage problems, I've heard about some studies being done by MIT about "Carbon Nanotube Ultracapacitors." Ultracapacitors store energy in magnetic fields instead of chemical reactions, making them more efficient and delivering higher performance. On top of that, they have a 10-year-plus lifetime, indifference to temperature change, high immunity to shock and vibration and high charging and discharging efficiency.

I don't know how close they are to production, but it's an idea for the future. :-D

Lee Rumler

1:12pm | Mar 22, 2008

I forgot to mention in my previous comment, there is a lifetime longer than 300,000 recharge cycles.

Robert Horning

4:59pm | Mar 22, 2008

I'm waiting for the day that Martin talks about receiving his Roadster. This will be the ultimate milestone as it will show actual customers receiving vehicles instead of something just for show. Still, this is a huge milestone, and congratulations to Tesla for an outstanding job of making a new production vehicle that isn't vaporware.

Many more changes to this company are going to happen now that production has started, and it will finally stop the critics who claim it can never happen.

T.J.

5:16pm | Mar 22, 2008

You guys are grate-but so iz Alan Cocconi, who started it all-and Martin-lest we forget in all the excitement.

Richard M. Smith

6:59pm | Mar 22, 2008

I believe in your product...yet I have never been in one. I believe in your website and the information that is contained within it. I am going to graduate from U of A, one step away from my Technical Degree in Welding. I also have a great interest, in a great many things that range from Blackholes to Electric Cars and beyond... . I would love to be part of the Tesla team in some way...the price is far out of my reach at this time...perhaps someday. If anyone at Tesla sees this, I WOULD LOVE A JOB AND WOULD WORK FOR A TESLA CAR AND A SMALL SALARY SO I COULD EAT AND HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE. I'm sure I wont get a call, my phone number is [deleted].

Bill Howland

3:18am | Mar 23, 2008

A significant milestone to be sure. A greater one will be when they make more than 48 of them
(I think thats the number of TUCKERS ever made).

I agree with several of the other posters that Tesla people should avoid hyperbole.
The car is nice enough that it will SELL itself.

The fact that the car is not the fastest, nor the most energy efficient, (I think that title goes to GM's Shreaded EV1)
is really unimportant. Tesla should stop making claims that can never be fulfilled, especially as regards recharging.

What they have is a nice product that many, many people will purchase as - is.

As long as they're competing with companies as Brain-Dead as GM (I believe they could have made a fortune with the EV1
and its presumed successors), and their enlightened decision was to shred all but one of them shows
that Tesla has nothing to worry about.
- Bill.

Roy Bisson

4:48am | Mar 23, 2008

Congratulations on getting under way.

How about some pictures of the production line please?

We will have some soon! -ed.

Ancion

5:24am | Mar 23, 2008

Congratulations ,

Do you know when the first cars will be delievered?

Andrew Kelsey

5:31am | Mar 23, 2008

Steve, it isn't the reporting of Car and Driver's findings it's the misreporting of them that we're objecting to. Both Elon and Ze'ev are using the
C & D results to convince people who don't understand how the test works that the Tesla is the fastest thing between 30 and 70. It isn't!
It's a great car. I wish I could afford one...it accelerates really fast....it has all kinds of wonderful qualities and we all love it, but the way they are
using this test to promote the car is an exercise in deception intended to confuse the unwary. All we are saying is that this is unworthy of this
great little company and we think it makes them look bad. We don't want them to look bad because we want the company to succeed.
Nobody but a real dork would be driving his McLaren at 30 mph in its 240 mph top gear, so he wouldn't have to change down to accelerate as
he'd already be in a lower gear and could accelerate much faster than a Tesla. Does that make it any clearer why what they're saying is deceptive?
I'm as bored with this argument as you are, by the way, but it's likely to continue as long as people defend the indefensible.

Before offering any "congratulations!!!" I will await independent reviews of production cars by reviewers who apply the same rigorous standards that would be applied to any other $100,000 vehicle; a steady and ongoing rate of car production; and a final version that does what Tesla originally claimed it would do, as opposed to some half-assed car that will be "upgraded" later on. Until then, I think it prudent to regard the most recent statement as another exercise in press releasemanship, which these days is Silicon Valley's most highly-developed skill.

did you read the independent reviews of the car that are on the stands right now? - ed.

You have a great product. I can't wait until we see some of these cars on the road.

Have your engineering teams done any research related tousing the air channel on the bottom of the car to direct air flow through a couple of high effecienciy turbine generators that might extend the range of the car? Regenerative energy from braking is good, but wind power is available every time the vehicle moves. It seems to me that a spinning turbine within the rear subframe could be used to generate a considerable amount of electricity. My 2-cents..

I hope your company is successful and I will be looking for a Tesla family sports sedan in the future!

Regards,

Lee McLeod

mark

3:32pm | Mar 23, 2008

"did you read the independent reviews of the car that are on the stands right now? - ed."

Those were only "previews" since the journalists got one day glimpses at preproduction cars.

That's not to say that this wasn't a great start. It's just that the comparisons are going to start getting a lot harder. Now that you are "in production", you will start being measured by some of the same standards that other auto makers are. This is where the fun starts!

The reality is that car reviews usually require production cars and more time to test them on their turf. Car and Driver even does 30K + mile reviews which let many of the company's employees drive the car and leave impressions. These let you know how well a car held up over time, what maintenance was required etc... That is when you find out if rattles start or annoyances present themselves over time.

Someday if you are lucky you will eventually produce enough cars to be statistically worth showing up in Consumer Reports reliability reports. Hopefully the Whitestar will eventually hit those numbers. Of course there will be a LOT of N/A's in their list of reliability items :)

Thomas J.

4:32pm | Mar 23, 2008

Charles Pluckhahn, it's just a car , ok?

If you don't want it, don't buy it.

Kevin Harney

4:59pm | Mar 23, 2008

Ancion,

First car is already delivered and the rest are on the way !!

Kevin Harney

5:03pm | Mar 23, 2008

Richard last i checked there was a link on the home page for employment. Why don't you start there !!!

David

5:06pm | Mar 23, 2008

Great to hear that Tesla might be coming to Europe sooner rather than later and that Darryl said the net will be cast wider than Scandinavia.

To me the UK seems an obvious choice (but then I do live there):

- The cars start life here in Norfolk, so Lotus could integrate the drive train for locally-bound cars.
- You could maybe make use of the Lotus dealer network.
- UK gas prices are some of the highest in Europe, at $10 per gallon.
- The car would pay zero "congestion charge" in London because it is an EV. Equivalent-performing gas cars will soon be charged $50 per day to drive into the city.
- There are a lot of two-seater sports car fans in the UK, but we are getting hit in the pockets hard now. There are also still a lot of good roads to drive them on, fortunately.
- The Elise-derived dashboard should make it easier to switch the steering wheel to the right side :)

In short I think it would be a big seller, with a lot of sales and service infrastructure potentially already in place. I'll have my fingers crossed and my bank manager warned for the official announcement.

gary unger

5:26pm | Mar 23, 2008

when will there be dealers in metro ny or ct

Chris Harvey

5:39pm | Mar 23, 2008

I would like to congratulate Martin Eberhard and his team of dedicated employees that had the vision and enthusiasm to conceive of, and create, this incredible automobile. I consider it to be a great injustice that he is no longer with Tesla Motors, through no choice of his own. I hope that this not is not an indication of the direction that TM plans to take in the future. Congratulations MARTIN!

milos

12:36am | Mar 24, 2008

david - you missed one of the most relevant points why Tesla would succeed in the UK and that is that with a 230 mile range you can just about go from anywhere to anywhere else without recharging! You don't need a bigger range - even with heavy acceleratoin you'd still get 150 miles per charge. You'd only have a problem going from London to Scotland.

Chris Harvey

6:11am | Mar 24, 2008

I would also like to include Marc Tarpenning in the congratulations for this accomplishment, as I feel that his contributions are sometimes overlooked. Congratulations Marc!

David

1:25pm | Mar 24, 2008

###Roy wrote on March 20th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Thanks David, for your links to high performance car specs. The 10th place car did 30-70 in 2.8 seconds. The Tesla with its current transmission should take 3.8 (2/3 of 5.7) and the new high power single speed about 2.8 seconds. Since electric motor torque is constant throught the 0 to 70 range I think it is accurate to project the same 40 mph acceleration based on known 0 to 60 times.

Roy - I don't think that is accurate (though it would be cool if it were)... based on C & D's numbers:

Interesting to note that based on C&D's figures, the acceleration is better if you punch it from 50-70 (2.3 sec.) than if it were straight acceleration (2.6 sec.) - which is very cool, and would be something to legitimately brag about... Another curiosity is why the 50-60 acceleration is slower than the 60-70 when the gear shift was at 45? Any gearheads that could explain that would be appreciated...

Kevin Darcy

4:39pm | Mar 24, 2008

I just wanted to say that you guys have restored my faith in civilization. Petroleum is so 20th century. Thank you for very much for stepping up and proving to the world that a car can be fast, fun to drive, and still not put off secondhand smoke.

Charles Pluckhahn

5:45pm | Mar 24, 2008

Charles Pluckhahn, it’s just a car , ok?

If you don’t want it, don’t buy it.

That's the whole point: Since its inception, Tesla has been hyping a non-existent vehicle. You can't drive (or congratulate) press releases, except in Silicon Valley.

Kevin Harney

7:32pm | Mar 24, 2008

We need a new blog. Nothing of any substance has been said in any of them for over 2 days now .... Time for a new topic....

Lee McLeod: You are not the first to suggest that, and you probably won't be the last. I'm afraid you've overestimated the amount of power a small wind turbine can produce, and underestimated the aerodynamic drag it would produce. The small amount of power generated by a wind turbine would be less than the additional power the motor would require to overcome the additional drag from the wind turbine.

Tom

11:01am | Mar 25, 2008

So it's been a week. I'd love to hear an update of how many cars are being produced and numbers on when / how much they see for future increases in production.

Ridiculous statement. Of course you can congratulate Tesla for starting production, whether you can drive the car yet or not. It's a huge milestone in the company's existence. That's like saying you can't congratulate your daughter for being pregnant - you know the kid is coming! Go spread your pessimism somewhere else, please, Charles.

Dirk

6:04pm | Mar 25, 2008

Questions I would like answers to:
As a mechanical engineer, I would love to better understand your motor technology. What really makes this AC drive so much better than all the other guys? What new technology developments are being implemented for the Whitestar or even the revised Roadster drive train? I read somewhere about liquid cooling the motor can you give us more details?
I am familiar with several motor controller achitectures and would like to know what you technically call your achitecture? VF VVF?? Something else? How many IGBT's are you driving this load with? I am involved with the power electronics on the Boeing 787 (150KW Motor Controller) and have to package all these things and am very interested in your thermal solutions also. Any details you can share? I know, trade secrets not withstanding, can you share something?

Cheers,

Dirk

Dan

9:42am | Mar 27, 2008

>

I guess if you put it that way, I have to admit that the Myers Motors NmG (updated Corbin Sparrow) is technically a motorcycle with three wheels. Still, with 75 mph capability and semi-regular production for the past couple of years, the claim seems a little bragadocious. Please stick to promoting the things Tesla does exceptionally well, like top speed, acceleration, range, high price, etc.

Anyway...Congrats!

Dan

Mike

9:34pm | Mar 27, 2008

I'll echo the sentiments of most everyone else here: congrats! I've been looking forward to this for a while. I do have one question however: while I'm certainly impressed with the estimated range on a single charge, I'm curious about ways to extend that range. Specifically, I'm curious if it's feasible to add solar panels to either the trunk lid or the removable hardtop. As many of us park outside during a significant portion of the day, that seems to be an excellent way to recharge the batteries while away from a plug. I don't know if I'll get an answer, but it's certainly something I'd love to see considered for future model years. Looking forward to the White Star soon, and best of luck.

I am very happy that this is happening... I want a tesla soo bad... I'll even take the 5 passenger car... I live in NYC where it would make soo much sense... I am waiting for the dealership... when are you guys coming???

Matt

10:31am | Mar 28, 2008

Congratulations on this amazing achievement. I have been following TM for a long time and I am very pleased that you have finally made it to production.

I do have one question regarding the change from a two speed transmission to a single speed. What will happen to the shifter in the "center console"? Obviously it won't be needed for shifting gears but I believe it served a secondary purpose of changing the re-gen profile. Will the shifter remain for this purpose or will there be another mechanism for switching between high and low re-gen?

Dirk:
There is a lot of informatiion about the drive in previous blogs, particularly http://www.teslamotors.com/blog4/?p=63 and http://www.teslamotors.com/blog4/?p=45
Tesla uses Vector control, and they doubled the original design of IGBT's for better efficiency. I guess that was from 12 to 24 (I think the basic pattern is 2 for each of 3 phases * 2 for regen). They did not specify how the double was done, but AC Propulsion (which they licienced) uses the second set to generate the pulses alternately, I thought this was rather odd until I realized that this gives the transistors a longer time to cool between pulses. Also note that the Tesla motor runs up to 13,000 rpm so this is really pushing the limits of the controller. If you want to contact me, click on my name and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Rob Stott

10:33pm | Mar 29, 2008

Well done have been watching this company and product develope and am pleased to see it in production,but the U.K market is wide open for you, with high price of fuel ,where are you ,an why are you not pushing the uk market ?

Huzzah! Kudos all around for getting it out the door and selling out all of 2008 production.

I'm looking forward to the sedan (preferably wagon) that I can some day afford (though I would DEARLY love to have the roadster).

Pecos Bill
Denver, CO

patrick

5:36am | Apr 2, 2008

I am delighted with the prospect of having electric cars on the road and with your high performance, gone are the uncool bubble cars seen in various prototypes. I hope your company starts the electric revolution. One ay I hope your company enters the mass car market and allows the average consumer to own such a vehicle.
P.S. It would be great if your cars could be hybridised using some sort of high performance on-board diesel generator as back-up and for longer journeys, until quick charge technology becomes available and widespread at refuelling stations.

Patrick: You have guessed correctly Tesla's plan. I personally do not approve of their hybrid approach. Not that there isn't a market for hybrids, there is and should be, until long range and/or quick charge is available. But I think this market will be well served by the major auto manufacturers, and I believe that Tesla will succeed better by differentiating their products by remaining pure BEV instead of competing with the major manufacturers. I believe that they will be able to sell all the pure BEV's they can make without getting involved in all the extra engineering and parts necessary to include an ICE. I also believe that quick charge is not required, and with better batteries and longer range, nignt time charging will satisfy everybodies needs. There are a lot of promising developments, better batteries are comming. BTW quick charge has already been demonstrated by Phoenix Motor cars, but I believe this technology will always be much more expensive than night charging and therefore relegated to highway service stations catering to trucks and long distance drivers.

Charles Pluckhahn

8:42pm | Apr 3, 2008

What does "regular production" mean? What is the rate of production, and what is the backlog of orders? When will Tesla be making final version cars (meaning cars that won't have to be modified later) available to the general public? The company is now one year late. How many more years will it be until Tesla is a real automobile company, as opposed to a money-losing, venture-funded, boutique "producer" of the fantasies of the idle rich?

Steve

9:24pm | Apr 4, 2008

Charles: How many years will it be before you find something more productive to do with your time than to bad-mouth Tesla? What's your motivation? Are you an employee of one of the oil companies? A shill for one of the ICE auto manufacturers? Do you really think spreading your drivel on this site is going to cause any current Tesla customers to ask for their money back or cause potential customers to change their minds? Why so much negativity? As many have stated before, being late to market with such an innovative product is not unusual in the business world. Maybe you're just sore because you can't afford one like the over 1000 "idle rich" who have plunked down their deposits.

Those of us with a little more vision can see that what Tesla is doing will lead to a paradigm shift for the automobile industry. Whether they end up being wildly successful themselves, or just spurring others on (possibly even the big boys) to offer alternatives to ICE cars, the writing is on the wall. Take off your blinders, man. ICE cars will be going the route of the horse and buggy, most likely in my lifetime, and I'm over 50.

Steve

9:30pm | Apr 4, 2008

Last sentence to Charles: And in my view, Tesla will deserve a great deal of credit for the change that is on horizon.....

Charles Pluckhahn

7:17am | Apr 6, 2008

Steve, I am not the one who made a bunch of promises and produced nothing. I see that the "news" media might be getting tired of slapping its writers' names on Tesla's press releases:

p.s.: There can't be a "paradigm" shift without a transmission or a car.

Steve

10:27pm | Apr 6, 2008

Charles: No answer then to my question about what motivates you to keep attacking the company? Everyone knows they have missed their targets, no one needs you to keep bringing it up ad nauseam.
I guess time will tell how many cars Tesla produces this year, and how successful the company becomes. I doubt we'll see you back here on the blogs if they do well, admitting you were wrong.

David

4:26am | Apr 8, 2008

So I see several news sites are now carrying reports that 250 examples of the 2009 roadsters will be sold in Europe next year with a list price of €100,000 !!

I hope this isn't true, as surely Tesla cannot have failed to notice that there are 1.57 Dollars to the Euro at the moment. Such a price would be unjustifyable given that the car starts out life in Europe. If Tesla really are planning to ship the "gliders" across the Atlantic, fit the (Asian) power train and then ship them back, what on earth is that going to do for the cars' carbon footprints?

Futhermore, reports say a right-hand drive is unlikely. OK, if I have to drive a left hooker then so be it, but £80k (British Pounds) is too much of a stretch. At 50 grand I can justify the outlay, but a 60% premium is out of reach.

Please tell me these reports are the result of some journalist switching the $ for a € or £ because of previous examples of the practice, and that you are not going to lazily follow that trend.

"Ze'ev Drori, chief executive of the US start-up, told the Financial Times that Tesla would start selling its Roadster sports car for just under €100,000 ($156,000), on the continent by the third quarter."

I guess that is official then. Ho hum.

Charles Pluckhahn

1:22pm | Apr 14, 2008

We're coming up to the one-month anniversary of Tesla's press release about the beginning of "regular" production of its roadsters. How many of them have you produced?

larry

12:47am | Apr 23, 2008

I'll never be able to afford a testla roadster, (even a used one)but am still very glad to hear that they will start to be in use by those people who can afford it. The gas prices are going up again as I write this, so this good news couldn't have come at a better time!! As far as delays are concerned, as important as electric vehicles are, they can't hardly come soon enough. At the same time though I would rather that they be of high quality, than junk that is put out by the hundreds per day like I've seen in (none-vehicle)factories I have worked in.

jason

8:05pm | Apr 26, 2008

this is the future. i wish i had money to invest in this company. its gonna be huge, as well as other electric-car companies.

Gabriel RP

4:15pm | Apr 28, 2008

I love the Tesla Roadster and everything about it, except for the price tag. I may not be able to afford one, but I would like to be a part of this movement to electric vehicles, too. It would be wonderful if you could either lower the prices for the next car or start selling stocks.

Randy J

12:34pm | Apr 30, 2008

It is SO gratifying to watch the Tesla saga unfold. Wish I could afford one, but will happily wait for Whitestar.

As a penniless father of three, I don't need 0-60 in 4 sec., just to stop going to gas stations; I don't need 200 mi. between "fill-ups" (charges), 50 mi. would be fine; don't need the gorgeous design, just a little more room.

Tesla's on my favorites list and I'm following progress eagerly. Way to go, guys.

Never in my life have I seen an invention both this consequential and good for planet earth. It's a whole new ballgame!

This is great news! Congratulations and I look forward to visiting your store in LA. Hopefully the other cars that you are developing will be a little more affordable. Don't get me wrong, the Tesla would be my number one choice, but it is expensive. Can't wait to see what is to come from Tesla! Good work!

Can't wait for Whitestar! I really want an electric family/commuter sedan with performance equivalent to a gasoline automobile. I don't agree with Randy J (above). 220 miles without a recharge should not be sacrificed in Whitestar if this is going to be a viable replacement vehicle. And I am mean REPLACEMENT. Let's stop talking about cleaning up the environment and shutting down OPEC and actually DO something. TESLA is and I applaud you! When are you coming to the Dallas, TX area?

Lindsey Smith

3:16pm | May 17, 2008

Hello,
It would seem like a No Brainer to design these fully electric cars with solar panels intergrated into the hood, roof, & deck as to recharge the battery pack , being that this car has a 220-250 mile range (per charge) with regular commuting from 20-50 miles one way (let's say you use 10-25 % of your charge) one would think that with this car sitting in the sun for 8-9 hours it could recharge it's self back to full or close to it.

Peace,
Lindsey-Abe

Paolo

1:06pm | May 19, 2008

Dear Sir,
I live in Italy and I'm very,very,very happy to know that exist finally an electrical car with zero emissions in the future market.
I wish to change my unleaded fuel car with an electrical car.
When that will be possible?
King regards and have a good work!!!!

Paolo

James

10:17pm | May 21, 2008

Great news and I wish LOTS of sales for you guys! I only ask that you make a model more accesible to the general public. If you make an EV in an consumer range I will buy it. I have made a promise that I will buy the first EV vehicle that comes out in that range, and you can have my money if you are the one to make it first. I know decisions are made based on interest so here is my vote.

If you make it they will come :)

Battery

8:25pm | May 26, 2008

Great stuff from Tesla, but I worry the battery technology needs to improve a lot.

(i) Reliability - How long do batteries last? Do batteries lose storage capacity over time? What is the risk of a battery freeze up causing a life threatening incident on the road?
(ii) Economics - How much do replacement batteries cost? Can batteries be refurbished, and if so where and how much would it cost?
(iii) What If - If we had the same infrastucture (oil exploration/drilling/associated industries, refining, transportation, gas stations, service stations etc) - how feasible is it to have a large-scale battery refurbishment infrastructure in place?
(iv) PHEV vs EV - Why is a pure electric car the right solution - why not PHEVs - where you have the option of backup (reliable) gasoline power?

Brian

12:15pm | May 29, 2008

Congrats on the production start! Saw the Orange manufacturer plate Tesla at In-and-Out burger today in Mountain View, awesome and looking forward to your scaling up volume.

Lowell Varney

9:30am | Jun 6, 2008

Sir; Thanks so much for the electric car. I believe you should consider a fixed magnet motor to drive a generator thus eleminating the charge up. This vehicle would have unlemited range
and power. There is talk of such a system to power a car then plug your house into it. Worth a look.

Stewart Clark

2:02pm | Jun 7, 2008

This is a beatiful and magnifisent car. Is it going to be available to us common folk at some time in the NEAR future.
Thanks
stewart

Bruno Delgado

10:23pm | Jun 19, 2008

I am eternally grateful to Tesla for trying to produce electric cars, but I have become very concerned about the lack of actual production. I remember reading about plans to be delivering 1000s of cars a year by 2008, and now it looks like 2009. Maybe? Boy, I am just so pulling for Tesla to get it started, good luck and godspeed.

Josh

1:51pm | Jun 20, 2008

Hopefully the marketing department can put the word out that the first fully electric, zero emission vehicle is not being produced in the us for the consumer (with a large wallet). I would be absolutely estatic if Tesla could get a short Super Bowl TV commercial (insanely expensive but for a reason) stating Tesla's brand and the milestone that they have helped us humans reach in consumer transportation.

When we ask where the BIG AUTO's great electric boomrides cars are, we're told they're still years off.

One could be forgiven for thinking BIG OIL wants to run your homes on gasoline and faze out efficient electricity.

Hmm, at least Tesla has it right.

"Because we all breathe air"

Gill

3:28pm | Jun 22, 2008

Great stuff...I know you guys are working like banshees.....so don't over do and burn out - have a pit stop as needed, but please kick ass and get going with Solar Power Production Tesla - Love the car - the vision. Gill/NYC

John

9:03am | Jul 12, 2008

When will Tesla be available in Australia? Not interested in what the car can do 0 - 100km. Maybe in the future, I can drive an environmentally friendly sports car that I can charge up from a solar panel installation on the roof of my house.

Tesla Motors needs to decrease the weight of the vehicles it is producing and the way to do this is to learn more about Buckypaper being layered together to be stronger than steel, I esp. am concerned with those steel cans for each cell in the battery packs and because I do not know the weight of the 6,831 steel cans. Just how much does that weigh not the battery total of 992 lbs.. I see the vehicle total weight as Curb weight (lbs/kgs): 2723/1238 but how much could be saved by not using the 6,831 steel cans? What I am getting at… Have you seen the article, [Future Planes, Cars May Be Made of Buckypaper; Friday, October 17, 2008 12:29 PM; http://www.newsmax.com/science/tec_buckypaper/2008/10/17/141478.html]?

Why not eliminate all that heavy steel your using and add more battery power for adding another electric motor to the rear-end on those electric cars your making. BluWav Systems LLC [http://www.wavecrestlabs.com/] has two in their unit and they have electric motors in the wheel hubs so anyone could make a four wheel drive vehicle or a Hybrid Electric Cra with either a Hydrogen or CNG Natural Gas Recharge unit Fuel-Cell. I would like to see a portable recharge Fuel-Cell unit so to service emergencies on quick charges and this is also adding to our capability to serve power following a tornado or hurricane disaster. Can the Tesla Motors Team get this additional features for everyone, not that I could afford a vehicle that your selling right now so maybe you tell me how much you will drop the price to me and I will tell you if I cannot afford that solution but you then have it ready for everyone else that could afford those prices. Theres no manufacturing facility to look for employment in Alabama named Tesla Motors so that idea is a bad idea sorry I brought it up. Make a very long distance electric motor scooter with 60mph capability for Tesla Motors to undersell the Chinese and Japanese imports into America, Some Chinese Motor Scooters here cost $1,995.00 or $1,795.00, please be cheaper than that and learn more about Buckypaper.